Arthritis care 'haphazard'

People with rheumatoid arthritis suffer a postcode lottery when it comes to the quality of care they receive on the NHS, a new report suggests.

While some patients receive appropriate care from specialists, others are given very little or no support, it said.

The study was produced by the King's Fund and commissioned by the Rheumatology Futures Project Group, which includes charities, professional groups and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). The group receives funding from pharmaceutical companies that make arthritis therapies.

The study said the management of patient symptoms was "haphazard" and people experienced significant delays in accessing appropriate treatment.

It said: "The quality of ongoing care varies markedly by geographic location and needs to be improved.

"The experiences of patients and professionals, reported in focus groups and interviews in particular, ranged from examples of extensive specialist and ongoing care to examples of minimal support.

"The management of flare-ups appears to be haphazard. Patients described significant problems including delays in urgent access to specialist advice, lack of knowledge and capacity to intervene among primary care teams (such as with joint injections), and some inappropriate, duplicative routes, such as patients having to return to a GP simply to be told to contact specialist care."

Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive autoimmune condition that affects around 420,000 people in the UK.

Four in 10 (42%) of patients are registered as disabled within three years of being diagnosed.

The report - Perceptions of Patients and Professionals on Rheumatoid Arthritis Care - analysed the views of more than 900 patients and 500 medical professionals and NHS staff.